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For suicide prevention, try raising the minimum wage, research suggests

npr.org

271–280 of 355 posts

Re: For suicide prevention, try raising the minimum wage, research suggests

#271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I know the second the stores realize that every person now has 'x' amount of dollars to spend, they will raise the prices to match the most they can extract. That's not how economics works. The prices most stores charge is limited by competition. The only areas you might see an effect are in ones where supply is highly, and likely artificially, constrained.

Housing is artificially constrained due to zoning regulation, and in any given area there is a small number of major landlords, who all know each other and who all are politically well connected. UBI will be a conduit to funnel money from the taxpayers to large landowners.

I mean rent control would be an answer in these markets. You could have that determined by formula or analysis. In California commercial property use should invalidate prop 13 as well. That should open things up.

Re: For suicide prevention, try raising the minimum wage, research suggests

#272
post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you measure wealth as including home equity, as this article does, this is bound to happen in 2007. I'm not sure it tells us anything meaningful except that home prices were way out of whack and for many people their home is a substantial % of their wealth.

Why wouldn't you include home equity into wealth? Perceptible gap widening since 2007: https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/a-guide...

Because housing prices were in a bubble fueled by fraud.

Re: For suicide prevention, try raising the minimum wage, research suggests

#273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I know the second the stores realize that every person now has 'x' amount of dollars to spend, they will raise the prices to match the most they can extract. That's not how economics works. The prices most stores charge is limited by competition. The only areas you might see an effect are in ones where supply is highly, and likely artificially, constrained.

Housing is artificially constrained due to zoning regulation, and in any given area there is a small number of major landlords, who all know each other and who all are politically well connected. UBI will be a conduit to funnel money from the taxpayers to large landowners.

However with ubi more people might have the means to move out of the cities sooner than they otherwise would have. This reducing demand.

Re: For suicide prevention, try raising the minimum wage, research suggests

#274
post #269
post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really hope we do not get a UBI in any current forms. I know the second the stores realize that every person now has 'x' amount of dollars to spend, they will raise the prices to match the most they can extract. What I wish Canada would do instead is establish some sort of Universal Basic Rights like every man woman and child is entitled to 5lbs of potatoes a week, 1 gallon of milk, 1 pound of carrots, ect. I as a…

Serious question. What if you don't like potatoes? This sounds like a dystopian nightmare.

Is it as much of a dystopian nightmare as, say, having no food at all?

Re: For suicide prevention, try raising the minimum wage, research suggests

#275
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it hard to believe that you can’t see any correlation but here you go: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/24121465/ https://www.allure.com/story/suicide-debt-link

False correlation. Take this damning quote from your second link: > Data analysis from a 2013 study published in the journal Clinical Psychology Review shows that those who died by suicide were eight times more likely to be in debt. Correlation does not imply causation. To illustrate the silliness when the related items are transposed the statement becomes absurdly false even though the logic remains identical: perso…

Having debt may not be a mental health illness, but mental health illnesses are significantly exacerbated by debt.

I was discharged from a mental health ward 3 weeks ago after an unsuccessful suicide attempt. My brother was murdered a year ago and I've been struggling with depression since.

I lose my job a few months ago and money has been tight in my household, to the point where I began to see myself as nothing buta financial anchor weighing down my partner.

Freeing her from having to manage my debts was the primary justification for my suicide attempt. My mental health illness (mixed anxiety and Depressive disorder) is not caused by debt, but the affective symptoms (in this case suicidal ideation) were.

Or to put it another way: the easy way out of debt allows people to rationalize an an otherwise irrational decision. (°)

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/201...

    NatCen analysed detailed NHS data about adults’ mental health undertaken for the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. It found that 13% of people in problem debt – about 420,000 a year – think about suicide and 4% of them – more than 100,000 people – try to end their life.
Suicide attempts in people with debt are around 400x more likely than those without debts (it's around .01% in the UK yearly), which surely counteracts the idea that nobody is claiming that people in debt are more likely to be suicidal?

Having debt certainly isn't a mental illness, but we can't ignore the effect having debt has on people with mental illnesses.

Edit: sorry for any typos or grammatical errors, my medication causes difficulties typing and recognising errors

(°) Of course, it may actually be rational, since her financial security would be significantly improved by the removal of debt and the extra mouth to feed - but rationality does not necessarily imply correctness.

Re: For suicide prevention, try raising the minimum wage, research suggests

#276

As the old saying goes: Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy a jet ski. And you never see an unhappy person riding a jet ski.

"Money isn't everything, not having it is." -Kanye

Or, money is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for happiness.

Re: For suicide prevention, try raising the minimum wage, research suggests

#277
post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When everybody raises prices at the same time, business survive.

Only if demand is entirely in elastic. You can be damn sure if the cost of mobile phones suddenly doubled, a lot fewer phones would be purchased and companies would go out of business.

Of course labor makes up a fraction of the total cost of a phone, so doubling your labor costs does not double the unit cost of a phone.

Re: For suicide prevention, try raising the minimum wage, research suggests

#280
post #220

Raising minimum wage will push automation even further, making currently productive people switch to be welfare-dependent. Financed by taxes on the tech industry. This is a recipe for dystopia.

You have provided, and I'm not aware of any empirical evidence that this is true. There is also plenty of evidence to the contrary, see min wage increases in individual states, Australia, and NZ.
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